Relatives of an Elderly Woman, Plus Her Nurse, Being Charged with Extreme Neglect After She was Found Dead Stuck to a Bed.

Eva Fontes Cardoso, 53, her niece, Kayla Cardoso, 31, and the nurse for her mother, Lisa Hamilton, 64, all face charges of manslaughter, caregiver neglect of an elder, larceny, and Medicaid fraud in the death of Cardoso's 79-year-old mother Dinora Cardoso.

The victim's daughter, Eva Cardoso, was hired as her mother's Personal Care Assistant and Eva then subcontracted her niece Kayla Cardoso as her mother's health care proxy and PCA Program Surrogate.

Reports show that the women allegedly billed MassHealth for services that were not provided, including for services allegedly provided while Dinora was inpatient and after her death, prosecutors said. Additionally, bank records show that Eva Cardoso regularly provided a portion of her PCA check to Kayla Cardoso. MassHealth paid Eva Cardoso over $140,000 for her PCA care of Dinora Cardoso.

It's not clear how long the elder Cardoso was living in unhealthy conditions but their cover was blown in May of 2023. On May 17, 2023 Eva Cardoso called 911 to report her mother needed an ambulance. First responders say when they arrived they found the victim covered in cockroaches, bedbugs, and feces at a senior housing complex. They also reported that Dinora Cardoso was laying on a filthy bed and was stuck to the skin-encrusted bedding. First responders could not separate the woman from the mattress, so authorities had to take her and the mattress to the hospital, where she could be separated from the bed. The older woman died just two days later from necrotizing fasciitis and sepsis due to infected ulcers.

Now, you might be asking how did the nurse get involved in this. Here's how: Just seven days before the 911 call, the nurse had made a visit to the home (allegedly) and made a report after a visit that the woman had been “clean, well cared for, alert, and that her diabetes was well-controlled." She made no mention of the living conditions, the bedsores, the pest infestation or the feces that she'd been laying in. As a matter of fact, her report was a perfect, and complete, contradiction to the reports of the First Responders and hospital workers. Cardoso's diabetes was completely out of control and possibly contributed to her decline.

All three women are due back in court after the holidays on January 15, 2025.